Trutanich Pushes New Pot Shop Ordinance for L.A.

On Monday, local medical marijuana advocates were buzzing about President Barack Obama's new, federal rules for not busting legitimate medical pot dispensaries and an L.A. Superior Court judge's decision to invalidate the Los Angeles City Council's moratorium on pot shops in this city, which never stopped clinics from opening anyway.

L.A. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich

Now L.A. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has stepped into the fray.

Yesterday, according to the L.A. Times and Daily News, Trutanich turned over a tough medical marijuana ordinance to the L.A. City Council, which Times reporter Johh Hoeffel describes as "one of the most restrictive" in California.

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"Under (Trutanich's) proposal," Hoeffel writes, "most dispensaries would be required to close immediately and could not apply to reopen for six months. The 186 dispensaries that registered with the city when it passed its moratorium in 2007 would be allowed to remain open for six months, but then would have to meet the ordinance's requirements."

City council members such as Dennis Zine and Ed Reyes are saying they want to quickly pass Trutanich's ordinance.

"As soon as we get this, I hope to get this on the council agenda and put on the books," Zine told Daily News reporter Rick Orlov. "We have waited too long already."

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McDonald has won the "Journalist of the Year" award from the Los Angeles Press Club and the prestigious "Public Service" award from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. He has dedicated his career to giving voice to the voiceless.